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I just came back from a fifteen-day trip that took me to Madrid, Barcelona and Tivoli --- outskirts of Rome --- where I rediscovered the marvellous and always very impressive "" Villa Adriana"", the Emperor Hadrian Summer retreat.Needless to say, my iPod followed me around!

At Tivoli, be at ""La Villa d'Este"" or at the Emperor's den (Villa Adriana) as I call it, I listened to some classics of the Italian pop/rock scene with some Aussie music. Some excerpts/examples here:

I wake up, it's a bad dreamNo one on my sideI was fightingBut I just feel too tiredTo be fightingGuess I'm not the fighting kind

Where will I meet my fate?Baby I'm a man, I was born to hateAnd when will I meet my end?In a better time you could be my friend

I wake up, it's a bad dreamNo one on my sideI was fightingBut I just feel too tiredTo be fightingGuess I'm not the fighting kindWouldn't mind itIf you were by my sideBut you're long goneYeah you're long gone now

Where do we go?I don't even knowMy strange old faceAnd I'm thinking about those daysAnd I'm thinking about those days

I wake up, it's a bad dreamNo one on my sideI was fightingBut I just feel too tiredTo be fightingGuess I'm not the fighting kindWouldn't mind itIf you were by my sideBut you're long goneYeah you're long gone now

During the whole trip I was re-reading Marguerite Yourcenar's ""Mémoires d'Hadrien" --- Emperor Hadrian's Mémoires --- which I highly recommend to everyone interested in the history of the Roman Empire and the love between Hadrian and Antinoüs...

Two years ago I went to Turkey and spent two weeks in beautiful, awesome Istambul. And I was so amazed with what I saw, what I ate, the people and the music, of course, that I could hardly believe why I waited for so long before getting acquainted with such marvellous and enchanting a culture! During that trip I discovered Tarkan who is a star beyond any Westerner imagination in Turkey. And today I was just remembering the good times I had in Constantinople!

And I discovered something really remarkable during that trip: the friendship that does exist between Greece and Turkey. And here is one example of this extraordinary entente. A star from Greece singing with Sertab Erener, from Turkey!

No trip to Turkey would be complete without a variety of shows in the cabarets of Istambul. Belly dancers are, of course, a must see! And here is a chef-d'oeuvre du genre! It is not Turkish, but it is awesome especially the second part.

It is interesting that you mention it being difficult to be openly gay in Israel. I met a grad student here at Washington University in St. Louis a couple of years ago from Israel. He indicated that it was difficult. Yet, he is now at the University of Haifa and is planning on organizing a GLBT organization next year.

David,Thanks! Listen, to tell the truth I've never been to Israel myself even though I am dying to visit the country! However, I do have several friends who have relatives in there and go to Tel Aviv three times a year. And they are the ones telling me it is not easy and not well-tolerated to be openly gay in Israel these days.Now, keep in mind that Tel Aviv is one of the most progressive, liberal cities in that country! I try to imagine the situation in the more provincial towns...!

And since we're discussing homosexuality, let me tell you something very interesting about Brazilian music. There are at least ten Divas in Brazil. I posted some days ago something about one of them --- Eliane Elias. They are stars like you cannot imagine! What is curious about female singers in Brazil, though, (especially the most famous ones) is that they are all lesbians. And quite frankly, I've never seen anything similar in any other country!

Tonight I am listen to Simone. She is just huge in Brazil. And it is a pity that You Tube does not have most of her hits! Go figure!

And here you can realize how diferente Spanish is from Portuguese! This song in Portuguese is a huge success and has almost nothing to do with the version above!There is a joke in Brazil which says that..."el español es el português mal hablado"...!

I have never been addicted to anything else besides hum, let's see, §°&=$'`(=()%; *')?&)§/ AAND sex, of course, but I willingly confess that I am going head over hills for Ivri! The reason or teh reasons? There are many. However, I won't elaborate on them right now cos' this German keyboard drives me nuts.

And the first song of Ivri's album "Nights in White Satin" is dedicated from the bottom of my heart to my lovely, caring, gorgeous and fabulous Alex aka Allopathic...

While in Germany two weeks ago, I had the chance to see "Tokio Hotel" and be a little more acquainted with their stuff. Needless to say, everyone is curious asking whether they're together, are gays and so on. Well, they are in Paris right now and, believe it or not, there has been an even more noticeable transformation: when I saw them in Germany, they were like awesome, gorgeous ladies. Now, they are like little girls. These boys, I tell you...!

They were both known as the "Enfants terribles" of Brazilian music. Cassia died of an overdose some years ago, and Edson is one of the most rebels of all Brazilian singers. It is difficult to find his videos on any media, since most are censored. MTV Brazil, for example, just censored his last hit implying it was ..."shocking" for youngsters!

====================================================================================================Cliff, this vid is for ya, sweetheart=========================================================================================================

There is something really exciting going on in Paris right now. Indeed, there are at least ten new teen-age bands and when I say "teen", I'm talking about kids! Most of the members of these rock groups are 15/16 years old!Some examples: